Pipe retainer

ABSTRACT

A pipe retainer having a first body portion with a pair of opposed jaws therein adapted to engage a pair of spaced apart tubes and a second body portion having a single pipe jaw therein adapted to engage and retain a pipe, and a lateral flange interposed between the first and second body portions of the retainer.

[ 3,680,818 Aug. 1,1972

Unite States Patent Bujnowski et a].

9/1969 Reibold......................

[ 54] PIPE RETAINER [72] Inventors: Raymond S. Buinowski, Birmingham; Charles-R. Oliver, Utica, both of Mich.

[731 Assignee: General Motors Corporation, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 1,230,280 9/1960 France............................248/73 [22] Filed: Aug. 21, 1970 Primary Examiner-Chancel1or E. Harris [21-] Appl' 65979 Attorney-Jean L. Carpenter and Arthur N. Krein .H ne n mh D. T W a m m h de .na nw w at t e nam b p .Iln n yne 0 dew 00 y twm T m ddw C m mwm. A twIwP R mdv m T a n S a a M 8 e .mflmflm MmShC e SbWh TWU ea a .m e awmn m rm a epd e lm wmwm w. w [AoWaa A 6 C 4m C 7 1 /|.OOO0 00 6 41 ,4 4u! 78 2 1 "R W :mw 2 W m t 3 ll 7 u I C W a 4 m2 c m n n mmm R .L m C .M t e Umm 1]] 2100 6 555 5 [[1 .1

UNITED STATES PATENTS first and second body portions of the retainer.

3,536,281 10/1970 Meehan....................248/221 X 2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures 1 PIPE RETAINER This invention relates to a retainer and, in particular, to a retainer for pipe or tubing.

More specifically, this invention relates to a pipe retainer for use with an air conditioning unit or similar device in which it is desired to retain a pipe, in the form of a conventional pipe or in the form of a thin-walled tube in position relative to the condenser assembly of the air conditioning unit.

In the installation of an air conditioning unit in a motor vehicle, it is customary to mount the condenser assembly of such a unit in front of the coolant radiator for the vehicle engine to receive air drawn through the front grill of the vehicle either by the fan of the engine or by the ram effect upon forward movement of the vehicle. Because of underhood space requirements, this condenser assembly of the air conditioning unit is mounted in front of the coolant radiator and closely adjacent to the hood latch assembly at the front of the vehicle while at the same time, the various pipes and tubing connecting this condenser assembly to other components of the air conditioning unit must be suitably positioned in the limited space available under the vehicle hood.

Accordingly, the primary object of this invention is to provide a pipe retainer whereby a pipe can be secured directly to the condenser assembly of a vehicle air conditioning unit.

Another object of this invention is to provide a pipe retainer that requires no tools to effect attachment of a pipe to an air conditioning condenser assembly.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a pipe retainer made of plastic material that can be easily molded and then used without the necessity of any special tools or fixtures.

These and other objects of the invention are obtained by means of a retainer formed of plastic material with a first body portion provided with opposed C- shaped jaw portions adapted to encircle a pair of condenser tubes, a second body portion having an apertured jaw therein to receive a pipe ortube, the retainer having an integral lateral flange between the first and second body portions.

For a better understanding of the invention, as well as other objects and further features thereof, reference is had to the following detailed description of the invention to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the condenser assembly portion of an automotive vehicle air conditioning system with an expansion valve tube of this system secured by a retainer, constructed in accordance with the invention, to the condenser assembly;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1 illustrating the pipe retainer of the invention; and,

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the pipe retainer.

Referring now to FIG. 1, there is shown a front righthand perspective view of an automotive air conditioner condenser assembly having laterally extending, spaced apart, condenser tubes 12, only two of which are shown, for the circulation of refrigerant through the condenser assembly. To effect heat transfer, these condenser tubes are connected in thermal transfer relation to a plurality of spaced apart, longitudinally extending, cooling fins 14 ofthe condenser assembly 10.

Further details of this structure and of the remainder of the air conditioning system need not be described in detail herein, since they form no part of the invention, except to note that discharge of refrigerant from the condenser assembly 10 is through tubing l6, 18 into receiver and dehydrator assembly 20 and then through conduit 22 and tube 24 to an expansion valve, not shown.

In an automotive vehicle, tube 24, which is an expansion valve tube or cross-over pipe, would, as shown in FIG. I, extend across the front of the condenser as sembly 10 in a position which would place it in close proximity to the fixed portion of the hood latch assembly, not shown, secured to the body of the vehicle. Because of this, it is desired to position tube 24 in a fixed position relative to the condenser assembly and as close thereto as practical. To effect this desired positioning of tube 24, a pipe retainer, generally designated 30, constructed in accordance with the invention, is used to secure tube 24 to the condenser assembly 10.

The retainer 30, more clearly illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, has a first longitudinally extending body portion 32 provided with opposed inwardly extending C- shaped jaw portions 34, each of which is adapted to partially encircle a condenser pipe tube, as seen in FIG. 2, whereby it can be secured to a pair of these condenser tubes 12. Body portion 32 has a relief portion or slot 36 substantially in the center thereof to permit limited flexing of jaw portions 34. Body portion 32 has a lateral thickness corresponding to, but slightly less than, the lateral spacing between the cooling fins 14 of condenser assembly 10, with the rear portion 38 of body portion 32 being slightly tapered inward from opposite sides thereof to permit easy insertion of body portion 32 between these cooling fins.

The extent between the tube engaging C-shaped jaw portions 34 is such, that when in the assembled position, as shown in FIG. 2, these jaw portions will firmly engage opposite sides of a pair of condenser tubes 12. To facilitate the positioning of these C-shaped jaw portions 34 over the condenser tubes 12, the inner rear portions 40 immediately adjacent to these jaws are chamfered at a suitable angle, such as to effect an outward camming movement of the jaw portions 34 as they are forced against the condenser tubes 12 during the positioning of the retainer thereon to permit them to snap over these tubes.

Retainer, 30 has a forward, longitudinally extending body portion 42 in the form of two opposed concave jaw portions 44 forming therebetween a pipe aperture 46 and a pipe receiving slot 48 outboard thereof. The width of the opening 48 between the jaws 44 is less than the diameter of the jaw defining aperture 46 so that a pipe 24 positioned between these jaws will be securely embraced by the jaws, as seen in FIG. 2. Body 42 is also provided with a relief portion or slot 50 to permit outward flexing of the jaw portions 44 to receive the pipe or tube 24. To further facilitate insertion of tube 24 between jaw portions 44, the forward inner portion of these jaws are chamfered as at 52.

Body portions 32 and 42 are separated from each other by a laterally extending flange 54 formed integral therewith. As shown more clearly in FIG. 2, the relief slots 36 and 50 preferably terminate adjacent to the lateral flange 54 so that this flange will act as the pivot member for the jaw portions 34 of body portion 32 and the jaw portions 44 of body portion 42, respectively. In addition, when retainer 30 is secured to the condenser assembly 10, flange 54 will butt against a plurality of cooling fins l4 and serve as a protective shield between the cross-over tube 24 and these cooling fins.

With this arrangement, the retainer can be inserted between two cooling fins of the condenser assembly and then secured to a pair of adjacent condenser tubes 12 thereof, after which tube 24 can be secured between the jaws 44 of this retainer. Lateral movement of tube 24 is then prevented because the body portion 32 of the retainer is positioned between two condenser cooling fins 14 while the tube 24 is longitudinally spaced from these cooling fins with the lateral flange 54 interposed therebetween.

Preferably the pipe retainer is made of a suitable plastic material to permit limited flexing or hinge movement of the material between the notches 36 and 50 making it easy to assemble the pipe retainer to the condenser tubes 12 without the aid of any tools. This limited flexing also aids in permitting the jaw portions 34 to lock themselves to the condenser tubes because as the pipe 24 is positioned and retained in the jaw portions 44, these jaw portions are effectively biased outward to cause the jaw portions 34 to pivot inward to more firmly grip the condenser tubes 12 locking them therebetween. In addition, body portion 42 is made of a suitable thickness so that the jaw portions 44 are adapted to adequately retain the pipe 24 by themselves because of their wider engagement with pipe 24.

Although the pipe retainer 30 can be formed of any suitable material, it is preferably molded from a suitable plastic having the desired characteristics of dielectric strength, dimensional stability over a wide temperature range, and high resistance to moisture and weather, such a suitable plastic material being Nylon, for example. With the use of such a plastic material, these pipe retainers can be molded as complete units requiring no assembly or finishing operation. In addition, by their configuration as described, these pipe retainers can be assembled to the condenser assembly 10 and the tube 24 attached thereon without the necessity of using any type of assembly tool or fixture.

What is claimed is:

1. A retainer for fastening a cross-over pipe to an air conditioner condenser assembly having parallel, spaced apart, laterally extending refrigerant tubes in heat exchange relationship to longitudinally spaced apart cooling fins, said retainer comprising a first longitudinally extending body portion providing two spaced apart, internally directed, opposed C-clamp portions adapted to engage a pair of refrigerant tubes therebetween, a second longitudinally extending body portion forming a pair of opposed concave pipe jaws adapted to engage and retain therebetween the crossover pipe, and a laterally extending flange formed integral with said first body portion and said second body portion and intermediate therebetween and wherein said first body portion has a relief slot extending to said laterally extending flange between said opposed C- clamp portions and wherein said second body portion has a relief slot extending to said laterally extending flange between said opposed concave ipe jaws.

2. A unitary molded plastic pipe re ainer adapted to engage a pair of laterally extending spaced apart refrigerant tubes of an air conditioner condenser assembly between longitudinally extending spaced apart cooling fins connected in heat exchange relation to said refrigerant tubes and to support a cross-over tube, comprising a laterally extending spacer flange, two spaced apart and opposed C-clamp portions integral with said flange and extending longitudinally from one side thereof for engagement with a pair of the refrigerant tubes and a pair of opposed concave pipe jaws adapted to engage and retain therebetween the cross-over tube, said concave pipe jaws extending longitudinally from the opposite side of said flange from said opposed C-clamp portions. 

1. A retainer for fastening a cross-over pipe to an air conditioner condenser assembly having parallel, spaced apart, laterally extending refrigerant tubes in heat exchange relationship to longitudinally spaced apart cooling fins, said retainer comprising a first longitudinally extending body portion providing two spaced apart, internally directed, opposed C-clamp portions adapted to engage a pair of refrigerant tubes therebetween, a second longitudinally extending body portion forming a pair of opposed concave pipe jaws adapted to engage and retain therebetween the cross-over pipe, and a laterally extending flange formed integral with said first body portion and said second body portion and intermediate therebetween and wherein said first body portion has a relief slot extending to said laterally extending flange between said opposed C-clamp portions and wherein said second body portion has a relief slot extending to said laterally extending flange between said opposed concave pipe jaws.
 2. A unitary molded plastic pipe retainer adapted to engage a pair of laterally extending spaced apart refrigerant tubes of an air conditioner condenser assembly between longitudinally extending spaced apart cooling fins connected in heat exchange relation to said refrigerant tubes and to support a cross-over tube, comprising a laterally extending spacer flange, two spaced apart and opposed C-clamp portions integral with said flange and extending longitudinally from one side thereof for engagement with a pair of the refrigerant tubes and a pair of opposed concave pipe jaws adapted to engage and retain therebetween the cross-over tube, said concave pipe jaws extending longitudinally from the opposite side of said flange from said opposed C-clamp portions. 